How Soon Is Now?
March 1st, 2009
Although we’re still several days away from my actual due date (this Saturday), time has taken on an eerie elastic quality where it feels like it stretches out endlessly before you, but could be just as easily snapped back to a small bit of nothing, like an overextended rubber band that’s reached its limit. She could be here tonight, or she could be here forever from now.
My feelings range from panic to excitement to BIGGER PANIC to OMG I AM SO READY to wait, wait, what was I thinking? to … well, you see the pattern emerging here. I’m all over the place, but mostly, I’m just really excited. Adding to my excitement is the fact that Adam opened up a Twitter account for our kid and since I have nothing to do with it, it’s been hilarious for me to read this vague display of pseudo-anthropomorphism, and … well, sometimes, he can be a funny dude. I think I’ll keep him.
Anyway! Today was Birth Music Day, in which I burned five CDs of songs that are the equivalent of macaroni & cheese for me: pure comfort. Nothing new, too heavy or hip and they must, on some level, be uplifting, which means that some of my favorite songs were left off of the list, but so be it. I mean, clearly some melancholy Decemberists tunes were inappropriate, not to mention Peter Gabriel’s “I Grieve,” which, you know, no one wants to remember giving birth to. It’s even worse than Live’s “Lightning Crashes.” There is enough death in the world — no one should have to deal with it on birth day.
And because I’ve got nothing else going on right now but errands, last-minute prep and fielding phone calls, not to mention not being able to call ANYONE without hearing them get VERY EXCITED, only to find out you have a question about a pasta recipe, you get to see what I’ll be suffering through for MANY HOURS! This, by the way, is Adam’s worst musical nightmare, as he’s just not, um, into these kinds of tunes.
And if you want copies to give birth to when you do, I will gleefully send them to you. After she’s here, that is.
The Birth Playlist That Even I’m A Little Embarrassed About
The Brother Kite: Lay Down Your Burden; Get On, Me
Carbon Leaf: What About Everything?, Toy Soldiers, Changeless
Celine Dion (SHUT UP): A New Day Has Come
Cocteau Twins: Iceblink Luck, Ivo, Lorelei, Heaven or Las Vegas
Dave Matthews Band: Best of What’s Around, Pig
David Gray: Babylon
ELO: Twilight; Yours Truly, 2095; Here is the News; 21st Century Man
Electronic: Getting Away With It
A Fine Frenzy: Lifesize
Frou Frou: Breathe In
Jesca Hoop: Seed of Wonder, Intelligentactile 101, Money, Dreams in the Hollow, Out the Back Door
Kate Nash: Foundations, Mariella, Pumpkin Soup
The Killers: Human, All These Things That I’ve Done, Sam’s Town, Bling (Confession of a King), Read My Mind, Where the White Boys Dance
The Lightning Seeds: The Life of Riley
Lily Allen: Knock ‘Em Out, Nan, You’re a Window Shopper
New Order: Ceremony, Temptation, Everything’s Gone Green, Perfect Kiss
Paul Simon: The Boy in the Bubble, Graceland, I Know What I Know, That Was Your Mother, The Myth of Fingerprints
Peter Gabriel: I Have the Touch, Growing Up, No Way Out, More Than This, Come Talk to Me and yes, Down to Earth (from Wall*E. Shaddup.)
R.E.M.: Nightswimming
Regina Spektor: Better, Hotel Song
Reindeer Section: Grand Parade, Cartwheels, Cold Water, You Are My Joy
Sara Bareilles: Bottle It Up, Love on the Rocks, Fairytale
The Shins: Caring is Creepy, Australia, Phantom Limb
The Smiths: How Soon is Now? The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
Snow Patrol: Post-Punk Progression, An Olive Grove Facing the Sea, Chocolate
And thus ends the musical comfort food-fest. For sweet lord’s sake, when do you think she’ll get here? And can I handle labor? Will I faint? SO MANY QUESTIONS. NO IDEA WHEN THEY WILL BE ANSWERED.
Entry Filed under: Uncategorized
32 Comments Add your own
1. Angella | March 1st, 2009 at 11:33 pm
How did I miss the baby’s Twitter account???
Just followed it.
I thought I was the only one who loved Regina Spektor. I am glad I am not alone.
2. susan | March 1st, 2009 at 11:43 pm
I love that list. It makes me all fluttery inside.
3. ZestyJenny | March 1st, 2009 at 11:44 pm
I love tehbaby!
I made birth music but did not use it. I wanted silence. Who knew?
A friend of mine who’s birth I attended made birth mixes also. She likes to dance a lot through her labors, so there was quite a bit of hip hop. What was playing when in the beautiful moment that her amazing daughter came into this world?
Let’s Get Retarded by the Black Eyed Peas.
4. Kate @ Life As I Life It | March 2nd, 2009 at 12:08 am
Any day now!! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you that that girl will make an appearance soon.
5. tehbaby | March 2nd, 2009 at 12:15 am
Uh, mom. I created the twitter account myself. Dad had nothing to do with it. Please give me my props.
6. Carla Hinkle | March 2nd, 2009 at 1:34 am
Don’t know if you read Dooce but utterly by chance, today she posted a video of “Bizkit the Sleepwalking Dog” that she recommends for inducing labor from its sheer hilarity. Being able to say a video called “Bizkit the Sleepwalking Dog” sent you into labor is so priceless I don’t see how you could resist trying …
I love love love Nightswimming. It is so self-conscious and mournful, it just screams 90s to me. (I love 90s music.)
7. Aprylsantics | March 2nd, 2009 at 7:32 am
LOVE the list (except for Celine. Seriously, I can’t stand her music, but I can appreciate why others do.)
8. TwoBusy | March 2nd, 2009 at 8:31 am
When Adam pops out a baby, he gets to choose the mix. This time… it’s your call. NICE list. TBK? Life of Riley? Heaven or Las Vegas? Win-win-win.
(so. very. excited for you.)
9. Marin | March 2nd, 2009 at 8:42 am
What if you’re *cough* not pregnant but that mix looks really, really good? (Tehbaby: remember we talked, right? My birthday, the best day in the world, = your birthday. It’s only 24 hours after your due date, so work on it.)
As an aside, I really hope you don’t think it’s creepy that I’m gunning for a certain day. I’m just fun that way.
10. Korinna | March 2nd, 2009 at 8:45 am
Another question that you won’t know until the very time arrives:
Will you poo on the delivery table?
I’m still not living this one down. Here’s hoping you’re spared…
11. Calliope | March 2nd, 2009 at 9:17 am
wow- that is one hip play list! My preliminary list is all easy listening from the mid 70′s…so uncool
12. Lawyerish | March 2nd, 2009 at 9:52 am
A NEW DAY HAS COME.
I consider that an homage to Auntie Lawyerish, since I was the one who suggested you start playing that on repeat when you found out you were pregnant.
OMG CAN’T WAIT BABY BABY BABY!!!!
13. bessie.viola | March 2nd, 2009 at 10:22 am
Nightswimming is a perfect song for labor, as is almost everything else on Automatic for the People (except the obvious Everybody Hurts. Too “My So-Called Life” for labor).
Can’t wait to hear all the answers to your questions! The innernet lies in wait along with you!
14. beyond | March 2nd, 2009 at 10:31 am
i am very excited for you!
i think i live under a rock because i don’t know half of what is on your playlist. it looks like i stopped paying attention in the early 90s. (but i like what i do know. i wonder if you’ll even use it. so many questions. wow. exciting!)
15. Raven | March 2nd, 2009 at 10:42 am
Have you heard The Rake’s Song from The Decemberists? WAY not appropriate given the situation but I love it so.
So many of their songs are like that, don’t you find?
16. jonniker | March 2nd, 2009 at 10:59 am
Beyond: Promise, most of that stuff is from the ’80s and ’90s. I haven’t moved on, either.
Raven: YES! The Decemberists are awesome, but yeah, not exactly the kind of thing that you want to be all birthy to. Totally.
And Lawyerish, it’s TOTALLY YOU. But it’s such an appropriate song. I mean, I’m not in love with Celine on a regular basis, but that song, man. So perfect. (SO CHEESY) (SO PERFECT)
17. Erica | March 2nd, 2009 at 11:45 am
I’ll have to start following her from Liv’s account.
Re: music – I spent HOURS making my “Beebers” playlist and do you know that I didn’t even turn the damn iPod on ONCE while we were in the hospital? Not sure why!
18. Marie Green | March 2nd, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Oh, my… the end of pregnancy is simply ENDLESS and not, all at the same time. To top it off, many women have “early labor symptoms” for awhile before actually starting early labor: slight backache, cramping, contracting, feeling nauseus, etc. I, for one, had regular contractions MANY nights in a row, going to bed thinking “tonight is the night! SQUEEEEEE and OH SHIT” only to wake in the morning PISSED OFF because HOW AM I STILL PREGNANT????? Rinse and repeat, for about 2 weeks.
So why am I telling you this? Oh, yeah, because the end is just so…. weird, and unpredictable and a VERY BIG lesson in how little we are in control of.
The end.
ps. CANT WAIT!!!!
19. Jess | March 2nd, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I saw your tweet about the baby’s twitter account and began following immediately, and OMG HILARIOUS. I had to read it out loud to Torsten because it was too funny to keep to myself.
20. Kristin H | March 2nd, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Love the baby twitter account. We used to talk for our dogs, and after our first was born we talked for her too. Oddly enough, she sounded just like the dogs…
Keeping my fingers crossed for a beautiful birth and healthy baby! And sending good energy your way.
21. Jen W. | March 2nd, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Haven’t commented in a long while, but I’ve still been reading. I’m SO EXCITED for you! Can’t wait to meet her via the blog.
22. KT | March 2nd, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Awww she’s almost here! How exciting.
23. Maggy | March 2nd, 2009 at 6:36 pm
I had CDs for my first baby’s birth, and I never got them out of the case. There was no time. And I haven’t seen the CDs since. My music choice: the soundtrack to the PBS version of “Anne of Green Gables.” Yes, I am a geek.
24. Topics about Food and Rec&hellip | March 2nd, 2009 at 7:30 pm
[...] Charlene Hamilton’s Weblog created an interesting post today on How Soon Is Now?Here’s a short outlineBling (Confession of a King), Read My Mind, Where the White BBoys/B Dance … And thus ends the musical comfort Bfood/B-fest. [...]
25. Someone Being Me | March 2nd, 2009 at 10:35 pm
OMG, where have you been all my life? I am 7+ months pregnant with baby #2 and I have been reading through your past few weeks entries. You crack me up. I am literally laughing so hard I am snorting and my husband thinks I’ve gone crazy. I didn’t have a playlist with baby #1 as he came 7 1/2 weeks early and I didn’t even have so much as a hospital bag and was at the mercy of what toiletries my husband gathered up for me. I don’t think birth is ever what you expect it to be but luckily you block most the bad stuff out anyways after they give you the baby to hold.
26. metalia | March 3rd, 2009 at 8:34 am
Oh, I TOTALLY would’ve put that Celine song on my birth playlist, if only I’d had one; it really is PERFECT for that specific moment in time. Much like how the day I found out we were havin a girl, I downloaded and listened to Loudon Wainwright’s “Daughter” again and again and AGAIN.
I would not, however, have included The Killer’s “Human,” since whenever that song plays, my husband feels the need to perform this over-emotive impression of Brandon Flowers singing, “Are we human? Orar we DAN-sah?!”
Not exactly what you need when you’re in labor.
27. Assertagirl | March 3rd, 2009 at 9:37 am
I love the Decemberists too but I can see how they wouldn’t exactly pump you up for labour…
Also, wehasbaby.com? Awesome.
28. ali | March 3rd, 2009 at 11:07 am
how did celine dion get on this list??!?!? how? wait…don’t answer that. i know better than to mess with a VERY pregnant woman! haha. also? my god, you are having a baby! yayayaya!
29. claire | March 3rd, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Haven’t been ALLOWED to comment in a long while (stupid work web-filters) but i was able to get on today.
I’m just SO EXCITED FOR YOU! I’ve been following on my Google Reader and i can’t believe that the day is this weekend. Holy Crap.
Wish i could get onto Twitter, but really. Like the overlords would let me..
30. Beth Fish | March 3rd, 2009 at 9:01 pm
I gave birth to Phil Collins. Phil Collins! It was far more painful than labor.
31. The New Girl | March 5th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Oh, you can SO handle it and you WON’T FAINT. At least, I don’t think so. I was SO, SO convinced that I would puke, being, you know, SUPER FAMILIAR with the whole process during the pregnancy, but NOPE.
Anyway, I think that Paul Simon is a poet and Graceland is one the the best songs EVAH.
You’ll do great. I’m so excited for you.
32. Motherhood Uncensored | March 6th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I deem this the fastest pregnancy ever. I swear you were just saying you were pregnant like 2 months ago?
Is Push it too obvious? heh.
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed